Shardul Thakur sat on the steps outside the Wankhede Stadium dressing room, talking to a few fans after yet another satisfying result as captain. His side climbed to the top of the points table after a comprehensive innings and 222 runs win over Puducherry early on the fourth day to enter the white-ball leg on a high.
Resuming the day on 231/6, it took the Mumbai bowlers only 8.3 overs to seal matters with a bonus point and clinch their second straight innings victory on home turf. This win might have been sweeter for Thakur and his boys as it came at a venue that was staging its first Ranji Trophy match since the 2023-24 final.
Sarfaraz shines as fielder
The headline act for three out of the four wickets was given by Sarfaraz Khan, who took three varied catches to help claim the wickets. The first was to dismiss Siddhant Aadhhathrao, where he flew to his left and grabbed the ball with both hands to give Tushar Deshpande his first wicket of the day.
While Deshpande might claim the second wicket to be his, he would also agree that it would not have been possible without Sarfaraz sprinting backwards from the second slip to short third man and hanging on to a stunning catch to send captain Sagar Udeshi, who could not keep a ball that had gotten too big on him, down, back to the hut.
The third was a fairly straightforward chance to remove the last wicket of Jayant Yadav and end proceedings before lunch on the final day, and head into the white-ball leg high on confidence.
Thakur weighs in on schedule
After the win on Wednesday, Thakur weighed in on the existing schedule, which now requires teams to switch to white-ball tournaments after playing red-ball matches. The 34-year-old said he was fine with the existing format, as it would mean players would not have more than 10 red-ball matches in a row.
4th Day Ranji Trophy Between Pondicherry and Mumbai . Mumbai Won by an innings and 222 runs.
Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty 19-11-25, Mumbai
“I feel there would always be mixed views on it, but personally, I am okay with it. To play ten games in a row, ten first-class games in a row, it’s tough on the bodies. We have also seen how the schedule is in the UK. When ECB plays, they have eight first-class games, seven first-class games in a row, and then again, they keep playing after the break, they put some white ball games in between.“
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“That keeps everyone mentally fresh, I feel. Otherwise, you know, you’re just playing one format for three months, and then suddenly white ball cricket and then red ball cricket is lost. So, it’s good that we are playing five games and we have a bit of a break. Then we play a white ball tournament, then we come back, and then we play red ball cricket. So that way, everyone stays in touch.”
“They stay on top of both the games, red ball game and white ball game, mentally, I feel. And with experience, I’m sure everyone would learn how to switch on and switch off. Because eventually, when they go and play for the country, whether they play for India A, whether they play for the national side, they will have to switch between the formats in bilateral series.”
“So yes, this is perfect preparation, I feel. And also, players who are playing first-class cricket throughout the year would have had 14 first-class games, potentially with India A games. With the Irani Trophy, with the Duleep Trophy, or even more. So a bit of a break in between, switching in the formats is always good,” he said.
Mumbai’s next Ranji Trophy match will be against Hyderabad away from home on January 22.
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Brief scores: Mumbai 630/5 decl. beat Puducherry 132 and 276 all out in 53.3 overs by an innings and 222 runs.
